Of Pianos and Musical Scores
by HelloMrMoon
Summary: In which Kyle meets an odd new friend. I love Jessi, but I kept her 'dead', for sake of the way my story is constructed. I suck at summaries. Just read it, I suppose.


The single piano note thrummed through my chest, replacing my heartbeat for a few exhilarating seconds. My once-busy hands fell, still, onto my lap and I took a deep breath. My hair, which I had been braiding, slid lifelessly out of my fingers and spun back into it's original shape. The resounding sound of the piano key still prodded through my befuddled brain even after a span of two minutes.

"Ooooiii. Joey. Jocelyn. Heey. C'mon. Snap out of it." I didn't notice Abby's fingers in front of my face until I almost fell out of the open window I was sitting in front of. "Crap! Joey, be more careful!" She hollered at me, although I was sitting not one foot away from her.

"Abs. Stop yelling at me, you're the one who almost knocked me out of the window." I murmured, standing and brushing invisible dirt off of my dress. I hadn't liked it much when Abby had come to me, begging for my inclusion in her newest play, Romeo and Juliet, but I'd had to agree when she told me she'd already signed up and the first rehearsal would be that very evening. I sighed softly, shutting the window and moving across the hallway. I had to see who had been playing that heavenly instrument.

"JOEY. WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Abby shrieked, running after me, watching as I peered into room after room, down the hallway. Abby had an odd passion for yelling and talking obnoxiously loudly. I'd never been in this wing of the school before. I'd never had the need, as it was the music hallway, and I was finished with music.

"Abs. Calm down. I have to see where that piano note came from. Go...do something." I massaged my temples. I loved my best friend, but some days her voice was a little too loud.

"OKAY! BE BACK IN TEN, DON'T BE LATE," She exclaimed, skipping off to go do whatever she had in mind. She would probably go berate Alex, who was practicing his part as Paris in the auditorium. She'd had the most enormous crush on him for years. I smiled distantly, peering into the last room in the hall without really paying any attention to what I was seeing.

"Hello." I heard a deep, husky voice rumble from within the room I had just peered into, seemingly discovering nothing.

"Uh..." I stuttered, turning back and squinting my eyes at the immense brightness of the room. "Hi." I could barely see the face of the boy who had spoken to me, only his outline which was framed by the soft tendrils of the sun curling around him. He sat at the piano, his hands poised above the keys expectantly. "Were you the one...playing?" I asked him, barely a murmur escaping my lips. I felt immensely exposed around this boy, of whose face I'd never seen. He made the softest, most lovely noise I'd ever heard, deep in the pit of his chest. I supposed he was confirming my suspicions. I could feel my face heat most irritatingly as I brushed my hair away from my eyes. The inside of my lip was bothered as I bit it again, a nervous habit of mine. My heartbeat swelled, until I was afraid he'd hear it through the soft, thin cloth of my Juliet nightgown.

"Would you like to hear something?" He questioned, a hint of a laugh twinkling in his deep voice. I shivered abruptly, but I nodded, moving closer to the piano. He stood as I approached. It was beautiful. Clean and a deep, lovely ebony black, the piano had the whitest keys I'd ever seen in my life. A small vase with a single rose rested atop the piano, looking crisply red and fresh in the sunlight. I gazed up at the boy who had spoken to me, and I was startled. His eyes were what I saw first. They were the crispest, greenest eyes I'd ever seen, with a smart touch of gray. They sparkled with some unseen knowledge. His mouth, next. It was turned up in a crooked smile, his teeth, almost as white as the piano keys, peeked between his soft lips. Softly built, tall, and with a lovely complexion, the boy was beautiful. Naivety resonated from his very body. The way he stood, the way his eyebrows were slightly drawn together in confusion...I shivered again. Maybe it was the dress that was making me cold. "Well. Go ahead and have a seat." He gestured to the bench as he shuffled around in a small briefcase. Papers with lines, and notes. Musical scores. I sat, tucking my dress under my knees. The bench was warm on my legs as the sunlight beat mercilessly through the window overlooking the piano. After he had chosen a piece, he sat next to me and rested his hands upon the keys. I touched one, smiling distantly at the smoothness. "Can you play piano?" He questioned softly, and I wouldn't have heard him if he weren't sitting next to me. My mouth turned up of it's own accord, but I bit my lip to hide my grin. My face heated once more.

"...I used to be able to." Was all I said, staring down at my hands. I could feel his shoulder, warm, pressed against mine as his wrists rose from the frame of the piano. The most beautiful of sounds came from the piano as his wrists fell. The tune was unfamiliar, but it was enthralling all the same. Stranger yet, the boy's smile slipped away slowly, dissolving into a tiny frown. After a few lines of music, he stopped.

"I'm sorry." Smoothly, darkly, he said to me. He lifted his hands from the piano and stood. "It was a very bad idea for me to play that." The musical score was snatched off the stand and whisked away, hidden back into his briefcase. "I must be going." Simply said, and then he disappeared out the door. I was left sitting, shocked and chilled, at the piano, stuttering protests. But he was already gone. I couldn't help picturing the darkness of his eyes in my head. Was it just my eyes, or had they changed color? From a light gray/green to a dark, foreboding emerald. Scary...but still beautiful.

"JOEY! WHERE ARE YOU? REHEARSALS ARE BEGINNING!" Abby. Eyes closing, I sighed deeply and brushed my dress off before going to meet Abby in the hallway.

* * *

><p>What was I feeling? My stomach felt...odd. Stirred. It felt like it would release everything inside. I had only felt like this about Amanda. I hurried out of the school and sat on a bench facing the park, but I felt too...worked-up to sit. Yes, that was the word. I resorted to pulling out a piece of 'paper' and the colored rods called 'crayons'. I would draw her. That girl inside the school. My thoughts drifted toward Jessi. It had been exactly a month, two days and 26 seconds since she'd jumped off the edge of that dam. Foss had said it was for the best, but, it was Jessi. She was just like me. Did that mean I could die, too? She shouldn't have died. It should have been me. I should have saved her. I could feel my eyes tingle, warm and wet. I could feel the warmth slide down my face, and I brought my fingers up to touch it. Tears?<p>

* * *

><p>"JOEY! PAY ATTENTION!" Abby screeched at me,making me stumble over a soft bump in the carpeting on the 'balcony' for the set. My knees suddenly ached as I stood, my face heating.<p>

"Abby, please stop yelling." I reprimanded her patiently, dusting off my dress. People hovered around me, asking me if I was okay and such. I waved them off, smiling politely. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. Let's continue rehearsal." There was a soft rush of murmurs before everyone went back to their tasks at hand.

"DO WE HAVE A ROMEO YET, JULIE? DO WE?" Abby continued her screaming. No matter how many times I told her...I sighed deeply. I seemed to be doing a lot of sighing lately.

"No, Abby. Please, your yelling is-"

"OKAY! NEXT SCENE!" I looked over at Julie and smiled apologetically, shrugging my shoulders. She smiled in return, her eyes crinkling shut.

* * *

><p>Something missing. There was...something missing. Maybe, as Amanda had said not so long ago, it was my feelings that were missing. I had her eyes, almond brown. Her hair, dark brown, a single braid tucked behind her ear, brushing her shoulders. That smile, with the white teeth. Her high cheek-bones and defined collarbone in that dress. But something was missing. Maybe it was the look that had been in her eyes. The dictionary defined it as smoldering. Repressed emotions, spinning at a top speed, confusing me. I did not understand it. She was beautiful. I think that's what you would call it...beautiful. Petite with soft caramel skin, lips pink and soft as peaches. Those are the fuzzy ones, right? The pink fruits? Anyway. I could sense that it was going to rain and I wondered where Nicole was. It wasn't like her to be late. Nor was it like Andy and Josh to be late. Where were the Tragers?<p>

* * *

><p>Rehearsals were finally over...Thank God. I was tired of everything. People hovering around me constantly, as if I had to be watched over every second. Abby's yelling and Alex's rebukes made my head ache. Unconsciously, pressed my palm against my stomach. It had been aching lately. Strange. I shook my head and hefted my bag higher up on my shoulder. Abby had screamed at me to wait for her, so I had wandered back to the piano. A crinkle, suddenly. A sheet of music? Neatly printed on top, Kyle Trager. I gazed at the notes and set the single sheet down on the stand, resting my fingers on the cool keys of the piano. The room had darkened drastically for the curtains had been drawn, and I gave them a soft flick to open them. I smiled as the sun flooded into the room, dispelling all the pools of darkness lurking about the corners. I sat down at the beautiful instrument once more, concentrating on the notes printed, dark ink on stark, crisp paper. One note, then two...I dipped into my past, the lengthy lessons and the long lectures. I still remembered the notes. I could feel my lips turn up slowly as my fingers glided smoothly over the keys.<p>

* * *

><p>"Kyle! Over here!" It was Josh. I looked up, seeing him walking toward me. Andy, of course, was with him, wearing the bright blonde wig with the pink streak. I waved at them before collecting my backpack and jogging to meet them halfway.<p>

"Hello, Josh, Andy. Where have you two been?" Josh's grin widened, Andy's eyes rolled to the sky. I stared up, wondering why people always did that. There was only the atmosphere, with a few cumulonimbus clouds wafting around.

"Dude. What are you looking at? Oh, right! Waiting for your mother ship to come and take you home. In that case, stare all you want, my alien friend!" Andy bumped his side with her elbow, and his mouth opened in protest.

"You're such a dork. Anyway, Kyle, this dimwit here was caught trying to skip class." Her voice was mildly annoyed, but there was also that strange endearing tone. "He was hiding in the bathroom and playing G Force. I'm half proud, half annoyed. He was in my spot." They grinned at each other for a moment before a very angry Nicole came storming up behind them. She said nothing, only blasted past and very subtly slammed the car door shut. Josh sighed, tipping his head back in frustration.

"Grounded for two whole months. Goodbye, G Force. Goodbye, kicking Andy's butt." He moaned wistfully.

"Uh, yeah right. More like, goodbye, getting my butt kicked by Andy." She grinned at him as they broke apart, Josh slinking back to the car and Andy jogging back toward the school. As I climbed into the backseat, I felt Nicole's gaze on me. It confused me.

"Where's Lori?" Instead of Nicole's answer, I got Josh's.

"She's at Declan's basketball practice, sucking up to Hillary. Dude, we should go pick them up. The cheerleaders are practicing in the gym, too." There was a mischievous glint in his eyes, and Nicole couldn't help but grin. I could feel my mouth turn up, too. Smiling was always such an odd experience. I could feel my eyes squint and the 12 muscles in my cheeks contract.

"Kyle, could you?" I nodded without hesitating, and I could hear Josh's groan as I climbed back out of the car.

"You're so lucky, dude..." His voice was muffled as I closed the door. Abruptly, I could feel eyes on me. I gazed up, around, then at the large window of the music room. The curtain was pulled back, spilling a square of light over the room. That girl was sitting at the piano, her mouth turned up in an infectious grin. Her hair was now pulled up onto her head, her face exposed. I could see every single lash on her eyelids, without even trying. Her fingers moved fluidly, and I heard the distant tinkle of piano keys being pressed. It was a strangely familiar melody. I could feel my forehead muscles contract as my eyebrows pulled together in confusion. Hadn't she told me she used to play? I dug around in my bag before realizing that the piece she was playing was Amanda's song. Canon de Pachelbel. Without thinking, my legs began to pump and I was through the door and up the three flights of stairs before I could stop myself.

* * *

><p>AN: Hey, guys! MrMoon hereee~ I'm so very proud of myself. c: This is my very fiiiirst story ever. Ohemgee. This is quite the occasion! Well, anywho. Like I said before. I don't own Kyle XY. Unfortunately. Well, actually, fortunately, because I'd probably mess it up. I do own Jocelyn and Abby. No relation to a actual person, be they dead or alive, is intended. Please don't be too hard on me! I'd enjoy constructive criticisms,though. :3 But I have tender feelings. Oh, jeez. Don't pay any attention to my ramblings. Kyle is gorgeous. Just so you guys know. :D Kessi FTW. But Kyle is a dreamboat. Bahaha, I can't believe I said that. Well, I keep getting off topic, so, enjoy this! Mata ne, minna~ (P.S.~ I really enjoy these line breaks. They're cute. :D)


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